10/31/24 - The News

Thursday, October 31, 2024

Stock market today: Nasdaq, S&P 500 sink as Meta, Microsoft revive Big Tech's AI spending worries

October 31, 2024 0

The Nasdaq led a tumble in US stocks on Thursday as Treasury yields rose and Meta (META) and Microsoft (MSFT) earnings sparked worries about prospects for Big Techs amid rising artificial intelligence costs.



The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) sank roughly 2%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell about 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI), headed for a monthly loss, dropped roughly 0.6% on the heels of losses for the major gauges.

SNP - Free Realtime QuoteUSD


Optimism for a Big Tech boost to stocks took a knock as investors digested Meta's and Microsoft's quarterly reports. While the results beat Wall Street estimates, both companies flagged that they will step up already high spending on AI infrastructure.

Concerns that would put pressure on profitability helped send shares in both Meta and Microsoft lower.

The unsettled mood spread to Amazon (AMZN) and Apple (AAPL), which round off this week's "Magnificent Seven" earnings with reports after the close on Thursday. Shares in the tech megacaps stepped lower in early trading.

Bond yields surged on Thursday with the 10-year Treasury (^TNX) climbing to 4.33%. The US dollar index (DX-Y.NYB), which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies also rose. Overseas, UK bond selling intensified over worries of inflation amid fiscal stimulus and borrowing.

On Thursday morning, investors received the latest reading on the Personal Consumption Expenditures index, the last key inflation input for the Federal Reserve before its policy decision next week. Annual "core" PCE in September — which excludes food and energy prices — rose 2.7%, more than 2.6% expected by economists, and in line with a 2.7% rise in August.

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Deadpool and Wolverine's Disney Plus release date has been revealed – but not in the way we were expecting

October 31, 2024 0

 After months of waiting, we now have a Deadpool and Wolverine Disney Plus release date – and even The Merc with The Mouth would be pleased at the sneaky way Marvel announced the news.




If you play an episode of Agatha All Along on Disney Plus in some regions, you’ll seemingly be met by a sizzle reel of 2024 and 2025 Marvel Disney Plus releases.

That includes the reveal that Deadpool and Wolverine is coming to Disney Plus on November 12.

It’s unclear what – if any – bonus features will be bundled with the Disney Plus release of the Deadpool threequel. Previous MCU drops on the service indicate that we’ll just be getting the feature here – so no deleted scenes, featurettes, or director’s commentary. You’ll have to stick with the physical release for that.

Even so, the streaming release allows you to catch a glimpse at an entire Void's worth of Deadpool and Wolverine Easter eggs. Remarkably, some are still being found, including this brilliant deep cut nod to 2003's Master and Commander.

If you’re keeping count, that means almost every MCU movie is now on the streamer. The only current exception is Spider-Man: No Way Home – though we expect that to swing onto Disney Plus at some point in the near future given how the rest of Tom Holland’s Marvel adventures have made their way over in the past two years.

For more, check out our complete guide to Deadpool variants and Wolverine variants in the billion-dollar-grossing Marvel movie. Then head on back to the start of the MCU with our looks at the Marvel timeline and how to watch the Marvel movies in order.

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A Crucible for All—Accessibility Features in Vessel of Hatred

October 31, 2024 0

 Accessibility is one of our top priorities in creating Diablo IV. We’ve integrated it into our development process from the very beginning and have worked with the disability community to discuss, iterate, and test features. With a more supportive and customizable gaming experience, these considerations have helped our games reach a legion of new players.



Diablo IV opened an infernal new chapter on October 8 with Vessel of Hatred. In bringing this adventure to life, our team developed new accessibility features designed to support players who have visual disabilities as they traverse the new region of Nahantu. With these updates, players will be better able to find—and fight—their way through the perilous jungle.


The features added to Diablo IV with Vessel of Hatred’s launch ensure that even more players can navigate the grim world of Sanctuary. We’ve rolled out:


Auto-Pin: A new feature that automatically drops a map pin on the destination of your selected quest or task from your in-game Journal. When a pin is dropped, your mini-map shows a route to follow to get to the chosen destination. A dropped pin becomes the default when selecting quests, and further enables additional navigation features.



Audio Navigation Assistance: With this feature enabled, the player receives spatial audio pings that direct the player towards their placed pin on the overworld map. This feature, in conjunction with auto-pin navigation, allows players to navigate quest content while tracking their destination through audio navigation. We recommend using headphones for best results of the immersive sound. Players can adjust both the volume and the interval of the ping to find a level that meets their needs.

Compass: The compass feature enables an on-screen HUD element that circles around the player and points towards their placed in-world pin. In combination with auto-pin, this provides even more guidance for the player. The color of the arrow can be changed to match their needs and ensure it is clearly visible while slaughtering the denizens of hell.



“As developers, we want as many players as possible coming into the game,” says Drew McCrory, lead accessibility designer for Diablo IV. “While we designed this set of features specifically with the blind and low vision community in mind, we’ve found that each release proves the power of accessibility to bring our games to more players. We’re serving people who may be experiencing disabilities alongside new players who might use these features as they learn to navigate the world of Sanctuary.”


Direct feedback from the disability community was essential to shaping these features and outfitting Vessel of Hatred with 3D spatial sound. From the Public Test Realm (PTR), our developers received input on the audio navigation, which led to add three unique audio pings and varying the patterns of the sound to provide multiple pieces of information through audio.


These are the latest to join Diablo IV’s existing suite of accessibility features. You can find more information in our pre-launch blog.


Accessibility work is never done, and the team is continuing the conversations as we forge plans for future seasons. Making a game more accessible also makes it more approachable, and we are eager to welcome more players into the Diablo universe to join the fated campaign against Mephisto

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Donald Trump wears garbage worker vest to rally in critical swing state

October 31, 2024 0

 Just six days until Nov. 5 and the day after President Biden called Trump supporters "garbage," Former President Donald Trump addressed several thousand supporters in Green Bay, Wisconsin, while wearing a garbage worker's high visibility vest.



Trump explained that his decision to arrive at the rally in a dump truck, dressed in a garbage vest, was made spur of the moment. He joked that the vest made him look thinner and quipped that the vest could become part of his everyday attire. 

"When they said I’d look thinner, I said in that case, I’ll wear it onstage," he joked. "I may never wear a blue jacket again."  

He criticized Biden, Democrats, and most especially his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, for "running a campaign of hate, vitriol and retribution."

TRUMP TRASHES BIDEN'S INSULT IN A GARBAGE TRUCK

Trump at a rally

Former President Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Resch Center, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

"This week Kamala has been comparing her political opponents to the most evil mass murderers in history and now speaking on a call for her campaign last night crooked Joe Biden finally said what he and Kamala really think of our supporters, he called them ‘garbage,'" he said.

"My response to Joe and Kamala is very simple: You can’t lead America if you don’t love Americans, it's true. You can’t be president if you hate the American people, which I believe they do, and Kamala Harris is not fit to be president of the United States," he said. 


Trump in a garbage truck

Former President Trump talks to reporters as he sits in a garbage truck Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Trump went on to emphasize himself as a unity candidate, uniting people of every race, creed and economic status.

"Kamala and Joe call all of us, and them, even them, ‘garbage.’ I call you the heart and soul of America. You are the heart and soul, you built our country, you built it," he said. "And by the way I want to thank all our sanitation workers all across America because they work hard, they really do work hard and they do an incredible job, and they don’t get the credit they deserve."

Trump also made fun of Harris for mentioning him 24 times in her closing argument speech on Tuesday in Washington, D.C. He accused the Harris campaign of paying and bussing in supporters for the speech.  

U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris

President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris (AP Photo/Getty Images)

He also thanked former astronaut Buzz Aldrin for his recent endorsement, saying: "What we have built is the biggest, broadest, most incredible coalition and the greatest political movement in the history of our country."

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